A. Field of the Invention
Concepts consistent with the principles of the invention relate generally to networking, and more particularly, to segmentation and reassembly (SAR) techniques for data units.
B. Description of Related Art
Segmentation and reassembly (SAR) is the process of breaking a data unit, such as a packet, into smaller units, such as ATM cells, and later reassembling them into the proper order. Alternatively, a SAR system may receive ATM cells, reassemble the cells into packets, process the packets, and then break the processed packets into cells for re-transmission.
SAR systems are commonly used in networking environments. A router, for instance, may receive ATM cells over a network and reassemble the cells into packets. The packets may then be processed by, for example, analyzing each packet to determine its next destination address and output port. The router may then segment the packets back into fixed lengths cells, which are then transmitted on the network.
In a network router, multiple traffic flows may compete for limited network bandwidth. The router is faced with the task of allocating the total bandwidth available at a particular output port among the traffic flows. In the context of an ATM SAR system, the SAR may segment packet flows into ATM cells that correspond to multiple ATM virtual circuits. The virtual circuits contest for the bandwidth of the output port.